


Of Axes and Arrows

by Antarctica_or_bust



Category: The Hobbit (Jackson Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Bonding Over Archery, Crack, Drunken Shenanigans, Epic Bromance, Epic Friendship, Friendship, Fíli and Kíli are adorable, Gen, Hijinks & Shenanigans, Humor, Mirkwood, Missing Scene, Pranks and Practical Jokes, Rivendell, Twins finishing each other's sentences, Young Legolas
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-04-06
Updated: 2013-04-06
Packaged: 2017-12-07 14:23:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,630
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/749518
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Antarctica_or_bust/pseuds/Antarctica_or_bust
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kíli becomes friends with Elladan, Elrohir, and Legolas while in Rivendell and mischief ensues.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Of Axes and Arrows

Kíli is bored. Mind-numbingly, beard-scratchingly bored. 

Which of course is **why** he's sneaking out of the dwarves' camp in Rivendell, tip-toeing carefully over Bifur's snoring form. As he reaches the edge of the courtyard, the dwarf looks back cautiously, checking that the remainder of the company is still asleep. He nods to himself, thankful that Gandalf had convinced Thorin not to set a watch, since now he can be sure that his departure is undetected. _Time to explore,_ he thinks gleefully, then slips into the shadowed halls of Rivendell.

The night is still and quiet and with all serene around him, Kíli finds that he cannot fathom his uncle's stubborn suspicion of their hosts. Yes elves betrayed his people, he's heard that story many times, but that was long ago and it was not these elves. These elves have been nothing but welcoming, Elrond granting food and shelter with only the slightest condescending air. 

And frankly, Kíli is bored. Bored enough that the thought of exploration far outweighs the threat of his uncle's displeasure, and if there is danger hidden in the shadows, he will find out soon enough.

But it seems that there's no threat to find, for the young dwarf sees nothing but an alien beauty as he treads softly through Rivendell. This is not the artistry of the dwarves, rooted deep in the enduring craftsmanship of earth and stone. Instead it is an artistry of nature, with buildings shaped around the simple bends of living trees and streams, and high airy ceilings meant to recreate the sky.

Kíli marvels as he walks, entranced by the carvings, the tapestries and glass, and finally by a statue that holds a single broken sword. At the sight of Narsil, the famous blade of Elendil, Kíli turns to whisper to his brother in delight. But then he remembers that he left Fíli sleeping, too near their uncle to risk waking tonight. However, Kíli barely has time to miss the familiar presence at his side before his attention is caught by a noise from the dark. _Is that laughter?_ he wonders curiously, trailing the sound out of the building and into the trees. _I didn't think anyone else would be awake._

Kíli follows the noise onward, quickly discovering that it is indeed laughter and quite a lot as well. The sound is accompanied by a musical chatter he recognizes as elvish, though does not understand.

 _Sounds like at least two, maybe three. Wonder what they're doing out here?_ he thinks as he walks deeper into the forest. Eventually, Kíli comes to a stop at the edge of a small clearing from which shines a soft, white light. Concealing himself behind one of the trees, the dwarf peers into the grove, looking for the source of the voices.

He is not expecting what he sees.

Inside the clearing are three elves, as ageless as all their people but Kíli judges them youths by their manner and dress. Two of them, dark-haired and nearly identical, lay sprawled carelessly on the ground, chatting easily and holding flasks in their hands. The third, as fair as his fellows are dark, stands unsteadily before them with his clothes rumpled and hair in disarray. Three more flasks lay empty at his feet and he sways unsteadily as he carries on in elvish, waving his arms wildly with every other word. 

Although Kíli cannot understand him, he recognizes the tone and the body language since Fíli is also an opinionated drunk. _Maybe it's a blond thing?_ he wonders and the similarity makes him laugh. Kíli's quiet chuckle reverberates against the trees and he ducks back quickly as the elves turn to look.

"Is someone there?" the twins ask in unison, switching to the common tongue as they peer into the forest. They attempt to don a proper mask of elvish serenity, straightening their clothes and hiding their flasks behind their backs. But this is ruined by the blond behind them, who sways, trips, and falls giggling to the ground.

"Lindir, is that you? We were just, uh-"

"-showing Legolas around. He wanted to see the trees and-"

"-the stars, really.” The twins chatter on, their explanations growing ever more elaborate until Kíli takes pity on them and steps into view.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to intrude. I was just looking around,” he explains hesitantly, standing on the edge of the trees.

"Oh, it's a dwarf-"

"-and a young one, we thought you might be-"

"-Lindir. Father's steward wouldn't approve of us-"

"-corrupting dear sweet Legolas here,” the twins explain cheerfully, waving a hand toward their incoherent friend. "Of course, I doubt he'd approve-"

"-of a dwarf either. But what he doesn't know won't hurt him-"

"-will it? So you can join us-"

"-if you like." They smile at Kíli, making encouraging gestures in his direction until he walks forward and joins them on the grass.

"So what are you doing out here?" one twin asks. "Lindir always says that dwarves all hate us, and the way our father talks, I thought you'd be holed up with weapons at the ready. Just in case we terribly dangerous elves try something nasty."

Kíli shrugs. "Uncle wanted to. And some of the others too. But I don't know, I've never been very good at hating people, especially ones I've never met. And I was curious."

"Sensible of you," the elf nods in response. "I'm Elladan, by the way, and this is my brother Elrohir. That giggling wreck over there is Legolas."

"He's had a bit too much to drink tonight or he'd introduce himself-"

"-Mirkwood elves have no tolerance, you know."

"Nice to meet you all. My name is Kíli, at your service," he says, liking these elves more and more. "What are you drinking anyway?"

"Only father's best Firewine, of course."

"Care to try some?" Elrohir asks, offering his flask. Kíli takes it cautiously, sniffing the liquid inside before tossing some back. The drink burns as he swallows it, leaving a trail of fire in its wake and he chokes, spluttering.

"Strong stuff that," Kíli coughs, handing back the flask as the twins laugh genially. _I guess elves are pretty sturdy after all. That stuff would strip iron from the rock._

"We take our vices seriously-"

"-and we have time to do them right. What do dwarves do for fun anyway?"

From then on the conversation flows easily as they trade stories and flasks back and forth. Kíli finds his head reeling after only the third sip so he sticks mostly to talking, regaling the others with stories of his home. He has just finished the long and rambling tale of how he and Fíli accidentally dyed Thorin's beard a brilliant blue, when Legolas finally stirs from his stupor.

"You all right there?" Kíli asks, reaching out to steady the blond who stares at him with bleary eyes. Legolas nods vaguely and attempts to stand but fails, flailing wildly as he tumbles into Kíli's lap. Though the elf is light for his size, the collision still draws an oof from the dwarf that sends the twins into desperate peals of laughter. As Kíli stares down at him in consternation, Legolas reaches up and pokes him in the chin, before asking plaintively, 

"But what happened to your beard? Father always said dwarves had magnificent beards." This sets the twins off again and Kíli blushes deeply in embarrassment.

"Am too a proper dwarf. You'll see. After we get our mountain back, I'll grow an amazing beard. Or maybe not, because I need it short for my bow, to loose the arrows. Otherwise it gets messy with feathers and hair flying everywhere. But I could grow a beard, if I wanted to." Kíli grumbles drunkenly.

"Arrows!" Legolas bolts upright, missing Kíli's chin by the narrowest of margins. 

"I love arrows because I'm an archer too. Can I see your bow? I wanna see your bow." The elf grins hazily at the dwarf before leaning in close and whispering confidentially, "And I think you're a very nice dwarf, beard or no." 

Kíli blushes deeper and stares at Legolas, dumbfounded, until Elladan gets himself under control.

"He's right you know, you should show us-"

"-your bow. We can go to the archery range and have a competition to compare our skills. Leggy here's quite good-"

"-when he's sober and I didn't know there were any dwarf archers, so-"

"-it'd be fun, really, to see how you shoot," Elrohir finishes, staring at Kíli intently, obviously willing him to agree. He's hesitant at first, because his archery has long been a sore point at home - _undwarflike they say_ \- but at these elves' honest curiosity, he finds himself giving in.

"All right," Kíli agrees, "We can do it. But not tonight, I couldn't hit _anything_ right now. And I should probably go soon, before I'm missed."

"Tomorrow then," Elladan says firmly, nodding his head.

"But maybe in the afternoon," Elrohir adds, looking fondly at Legolas where he's draped across the dwarf. "Meet us in the front hall after the midday meal?"

"That should work." Kíli begins untangling himself, pushing the blond elf upright and removing his arms from round his waist. "As long as I can get away. I'll bring my brother along so he can show you how a dwarf throws axes too."

He hands Legolas off to Elladan and then waves goodbye, stumbling back the way he came. Before long, he finds himself in the company's courtyard again, slipping carefully to his bedroll on unsteady feet. When the dwarf reaches it, he drops down gratefully before checking that Thorin hasn't stirred. Satisfied with what he sees, Kíli curls up in his cloak and lets the darkness take him.

\---

He wakes late the next morning, groaning sluggishly as something nudges him in the side. Kíli grumbles and tries to curl deeper into his cloak but the nudge comes again and again until he finally rolls over and pries open his eyes.

"Did you have a good night?" Fíli grins down at him, looking far too perky in the face of his brother's misery.

"As a matter of fact, I did," Kíli retorts, glaring up at him. "Though the morning after sucks," he admits when he finally manages to sit up, squinting against the agony of light. _Mahal's beard, my head. Remind me never to challenge an elf to a drinking contest._

"Where's everyone else?" he asks as he looks around the courtyard.

"You slept through breakfast so they're out and about. Most are resupplying and fixing up their gear since uncle wants to leave as soon as possible. But Gandalf said this morning that Lord Elrond won't be able to read our map for some days yet, something about the phases of the moon, so they were arguing again," Fíli explains as he helps his brother to his feet. "I hope whatever you got up to last night was worth uncle's disapproval. He wasn't pleased when you refused to wake."

"It was," Kíli reassures him, slapping his brother on the shoulder. "Which reminds me, come to the front hall after lunch and bring your throwing axes, yeah? I've got some folks I want you to meet."

All right," Fíli agrees bemusedly. "But best take a bath first, brother; you smell foul."

Kíli takes this advice to heart and after a wash and a change of clothes he almost feels alive again. He spends the rest of the morning checking and cleaning his equipment in order to avoid enraging his uncle any further, and indeed Thorin's face softens somewhat when everyone returns for lunch to find Kíli working industriously. Once the company has eaten, the dwarf returns to grab his bow and then heads quickly toward the large front hall.

When he arrives, Elladan, Elrohir and Legolas are already waiting, looking fresh and bright-eyed in a way that is entirely unfair.

Upon seeing Kíli, Legolas calls out cheerfully, "Master dwarf, you're looking rather good for someone who had his first taste of Firewine last night. It always puts humans down for days."

"Dwarves are made of sterner stuff than that," Kíli laughs in response. "And you're one to talk, master elf. I'm surprised you're even awake given the state you were in."

Legolas just shrugs, "I'm an elf, we recover fast. Sorry about all the, ah, poking though," he adds, looking away and blushing slightly.

"Don't worry about it. I'm sure I've done worse." A snort of agreement from behind him makes Kíli turn. "Fíli, there you are. Come over here and meet my new friends."

Kíli can tell his brother is somewhat wary of the elves, _always the responsible one_ , but Fíli does as asked nonetheless.

"These are Elrond's sons, Elladan and Elrohir," the dwarf tells his brother, slinging an arm around his shoulders. "And that's Legolas, of Mirkwood." 

At the last Fíli shoots him a look, clearly saying, _Mirkwood? Uncle won't like that._ But Kíli just raises his eyebrows in response. _Well we just won't tell him will we? It'll be fine._ Shrugging his agreement, Fíli greets the elves who then lead the group to the valley's practice range.

The archery range is tucked carefully into a forest clearing in the manner of all elvish their creations, but the targets are many and the distance is fair so before long the group begins a friendly competition. Elladan and Elrohir shoot first and though they are skilled enough, their interests obviously lie in other areas, and Kíli dares to hope that he will not be terribly outmatched. Indeed, the twins are quick to abandon their bows as soon as Fíli demonstrates his talents, axe blades spinning a siren song of steel as they slam into the target. So really their competition ends before it begins, devolving into an impromptu lesson in axe throwing for Elrond's sons.

In contrast, Legolas is a thing of beauty with a bow in his hand, deadly, sleek and incredibly skilled. Each draw is swift and sure, each arrow held perfectly steady and each shot flies with an impossible accuracy that Kíli cannot hope to surpass. But Legolas is so genuine in his appreciation of the dwarf bow Kíli carries and so honestly helpful in his desire to improve his hard-won skills that the dwarf cannot even be jealous.

Instead of anger and humiliation, the afternoon is wiled away in tips and tricks and practice, jokes and lessons learned. And by the time they part, Kíli and Legolas are fast friends, having bonded over their shared experiences as archers, younger brothers, and defiers of expectation. Fíli has relaxed as well, the twins' admiration for his axes and quick-witted banter overcoming his initial reticence.

So it's with a light heart that Kíli nudges his brother as they walk back to their camp, a grin and raised eyebrow asking, _I told you it was worth it, didn't I?_

 _Yeah, yeah. You were right this time,_ Fíli rolls his eyes in response, before adding with a shake of his head. _Still not gonna tell uncle though._

Kíli just laughs. _Course not, I'm not an idiot._

\---

The days pass and the company remains in Rivendell as they wait for the moon to be right. While Thorin becomes increasingly ill-tempered with the delay, Kíli and Fíli are glad of it since these first bonds of friendship grow and strengthen over time. Although there are no more late and drunken nights, this young quintet manages to spend part of each day together, often ending up back at the range. With Legolas' help, Kíli's archery is improving in leaps and bounds and if the twins are slow to learn the secrets of the throwing axe, they are at least persistent in their attempts.

But this is far from the only adventure that they find, for Elladan and Elrohir take it upon themselves to show their new friends all the hidden corners of Rivendell.

One of their first stops is Elrond's armory, filled to the brim with the fabled blades and legends of old. A thousand years of history are in that room, but the dwarves spend their time explaining the inferiority of elvish steel to their fascinated audience. They criticize the smithing, the alloy, and the names, and then they exit quickly for the twins goad Kíli into proving it and the treasured spear of Aeglos peals like thunder when it breaks.

Another day they find the stables and the twins become the teachers, waxing poetic about their father's careful breeding. Fíli is entranced by the slender elvish chargers, though Kíli is wary of riding any creature quite so large. Legolas is unsure as well since Mirkwood elves ride elk instead of horses, so the two watch from the sidelines as Fíli tries his hand. They lean upon each other when their knees fail from laughter after Fíli's horse unseats him in the branches of a tree.

But the best spot is the kitchens, for the dwarves are always hungry and the elves quick to oblige. Rivendell's chefs are easily flattered into cooking fancy dishes so over the days the twins share all their favorites with their friends. And while there is a bit too much greenery for Kíli's tender palate, his pleading eyes soon have the pantry emptied to his taste. The quintet chops and sautés for hours under the dwarf's demanding eye, but all the trouble is worth it for the look on Elrond's face when dinner is the best of home-cooked dwarven fare. Thorin himself has to smile when Fíli hands him a flat pancake, toasted crisp with sauces on the side. For it is cooked just like their mother's and Kíli is filled with pride at the feast his hands have made. There are even kegs of dwarven ale, as Elrohir has a skill with brewing, and it's a merry company that parties long into the night.

So it's a sad day for these young folk when the moon runes are deciphered and the company of Thorin Oakenshield finally prepares to go. At the news, Fíli and Kíli sneak off to find the others in order to say their fond farewells. It is with great distress that the elves learn of their parting for they too have grown attached to their dwarven cohorts, and they promise tearfully to remember all the times they've had.

To aid in this remembrance, Fíli leaves the twins a throwing axe, fine dwarven steel that they can copy for themselves. As long as they are practicing, he will never be forgotten and it will be years yet before they reach his natural skill. Elladan gives the dwarves a flask of Firewine to make their journey brighter, for nothing else warms as well on chilly mountain nights. In contrast Elrohir dreams of the future when the mountain is reclaimed, and grants them all his favorite recipes to be brewed and drunk by dwarves forevermore.

Legolas and Kíli hug each other tightly before they trade their bracers and a single arrow each, promising earnestly to someday meet again. Then, farewells complete, the dwarves rejoin their party and set out once again to meet their fate.

\---

And so it comes to pass that when Thorin Oakenshield and company are captured within Mirkwood, they do not lack for friends in the elf king's gloomy halls. For Legolas recognizes the weapons over which his father gloats and finds Kíli in the dungeons to offer him his aid. The dwarf is overjoyed to see the elf when Legolas knocks against his cell and their tearful reunion lasts long into the night. 

Thus, it is a comfortable captivity that the company finds themselves enjoying, as the elf prince makes sure their guards are sympathetic and brings them all they need. While the other dwarves are suspicious and Thorin only glares when Legolas comes to aid them, Bilbo is an easy sell, his awe of elves not entirely diminished by Thranduil's poor hospitality. So it is the prince and the burglar who work to find the company an escape route, and Legolas who aids him in keeping hope alive.

And for all his suspicion, Thorin finds his worldview shifting when the elf prince of Mirkwood frees him from his cell. For the elf is accompanied by his nephews and speaks to them like brothers and only honest friendship stands upon his face. Legolas leads the company to the cellars and leaves Bilbo there to explain the means of their escape. The dwarves are to take the river, riding barrels to their freedom and though his pride protests the method, Thorin must admit that the scheme seems sound. His only worry is the absence of the elf prince, for he still cannot believe that the elf truly does not mean them harm. 

But as Thorin opens his mouth to question Bilbo on his whereabouts, Legolas returns and stills his biting tongue. For the elf has raided Thranduil's arsenal for their weapons and their armor and won the favor of his company in one fell swoop. Fíli passes out each piece to its rightful owner as they climb into the barrels one by one. Though Legolas returns Kíli's bow himself, handling it with gentle reverence, and then hugs his dear friends tight to bid them both goodbye.

Finally, only Thorin is left and Legolas hands him Orcrist with a smile and a nod that boggles the dwarf king's mind. He gapes at first, looking down at the blade in his hands, the blade he thought to never see again. At that moment, Thorin Oakenshield must admit that perhaps the world has changed. Perhaps the future is a brighter place where old hatreds are forgotten and the Kings of Erebor and Mirkwood fight their foes together, axes and arrows side by side.

 

_End_

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by [this.](http://hobbit-kink.livejournal.com/3138.html?thread=4091714&)


End file.
